Public Statements

Kerry Amendment Forces Army Corps to Acknowledge Global Warming

Press Release

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today introduced legislation that would direct the Army Corps of Engineers to factor climate change into all future water projects and no longer build bridges, levees, damns or other projects with no regard for the environment.

A link to the Kerry legislation is here: http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/press/pdf/5_10_07_WRDA_climate_change.pdf

"Today we have an historic opportunity to make it clear that global warming is real and must be factored into every realm of our public policy," Kerry said. "Whether it's reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cars, reducing pollution, or ensuring our water projects go forward in a responsible way, climate change must be addressed. This amendment is a chance for Senators to put themselves on record that we'll do everything we can to pursue good policies that combat global warming."

Kerry's legislation directs the Army Corps of Engineers to use the best available climate science, account for potential future impacts of climate change on storms and floods, and account for the costs and benefits associated with the loss and protection of wetlands, floodplains, and other natural systems that can buffer the effects of climate change.

"For far too long, the issue of global climate change has been pushed aside as unsolvable, incomprehensible, or simply someone else's problem," Kerry added. "But the stakes could not be higher. The reality could hardly be more stark. Consideration of this amendment is right at the heart of long-overdue and very welcome change."

The current guidelines for Corps project planning were written in 1983 - long before scientists were focusing on the existence, threat and impacts of climate change. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, It is critical that the Corps begin to account for climate change and protect natural systems that can buffer the impact that we expect climate change will have.